Injured Raiders Still Score

His grin was even wider after the Raiders' 2-0 victory over St. Petersburg Catholic in a Class 3A state semifinal Wednesday at Lockhart Stadium.

"They are the most prolific goal scorers in our history," Dieppa said. "Pleased to have these two guys back. They came back today and both of them scored a goal."

The tandem combined for 52 goals and 22 assists entering the semifinal. Neither participated in the three regional victories that advanced the Raiders (18-1-0) to the final four.

Fluge, who hadn't played in four weeks with a herniated spinal disk, gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute on an assist from Gabriel DaSilva.

"It's hard for me to sit on the sideline and not play," Kluge said. "My first practice was [Tuesday] and that was the first time I touched the ball in four weeks."

Rodriguez wasn't upstaged by his teammate. His goal in the 59th minute sealed it for the Raiders.

"You forget about [injury] when you're in the game," Rodriguez said. "I was good to go."

"They aren't fully healthy, but they did the job," Dieppa said.

The Raiders, in their first championship since winning the 1A title in 2000, will play Jacksonville Bolles today at 5 p.m.

Bolles advanced to its first final after four consecutive semifinal losses in the previous four years. The Bulldogs defeated Lake Highland Prep 1-0.

Auburndale advances

The Auburndale Bloodhounds will have the chance to defend their Class 5A state championship after defeating Jacksonville Wolfson 1-0 in a semifinal Wednesday.

Auburndale (24-1-0) will play Palm Harbor University in tonight's championship at 7:30.

The Bloodhounds, winners of 22 consecutive games, are the defending Class 5A state champs. Wolfson's season ended at 23-2-2.

Kyle Sample scored on an assist from Travis Finley in the 64th minute.

Ismail Kamara and Eugene Starikov each had two second-half goals to lead Palm Harbor University over Fort Myers 5-0 in the other semifinal.

The Hurricanes (25-4-0) will play in their first championship since defeating Hollywood Hills for the Class 3A title in 2002.

Levi Curnutte scored for Palm Harbor in the first half.

Douglas girls No. 3

One more note from last week's girls' state championships: Following Douglas' 2-1 victory over Lake Mary for the Class 6A title, the Eagles (23-1-1) were moved up to No. 3 in the national rankings by StudentSports.com.